New York Plans Greener Zoning Rules

Phipps, Rose, Dattner, Grimshaw A rendering of the Via Verde project, an affordable housing complex in the Bronx. Next month community boards around New York City will ring in the year by holding hearings on a proposal that city officials say will give buildings more freedom to increase their energy efficiency and produce their own power. The plan, part of a package of amendments to city regulations promoted as Zone Green, calls for removing some zoning requirements that are said to hamper or block new green construction and energy-related upgrades in existing buildings. The proposal would make it easier for property owners to add insulation to exterior walls, for example, and install awnings, skylights, green roofs, solar panels and greenhouses. All told, city officials say, property owners, businesses and residents could save up to $800 million in annual energy costs. Th...